Building the look of the Star Trek Universe isn’t easy. Following a template made by Mat Jeffries, every artist who joins the universe builds on that original work. For one artist, his mission wasn’t just to build on what came before, but completely reinvent it all with a new vision that would end up becoming one of the most iconic pieces of Star Trek; The Enterprise-D bridge.
A graduate of Pasadena’s Art Centre College of Design, Andrew Probert’s screen career began with science fiction. On the recommendation of fellow artist Ralph McQuarrie, Probert would join the team behind the original Battlestar Galactica series, adding his mark to the universe with the Cylon Centurion design which would represent the Cylons and be revisited as an older model in the Ron Moore driven reboot.
Entering the Star Trek Universe in 1978, Probert would be brought on board to reimagine Starfleet’s favourite starship for a new generation. With the ships ‘refit’ to film standard, Probert started with Matt Jeffries updated Enterprise model from the abandoned Phase 2 to offer a new art deco style of the classic Starship and helping to open up the scale of the Enterprise from the large cargo section attached to the shuttle bay and officers lounges that helped show just how massive the ship really was.
By far however, Proberts biggest contribution came not from redesigning an existing Enterprise, but by designing an all new one. With Roddenberry’s new vision for the Next Generation, the plan was to present a ship that seemed less military and more comfort. Witht he main direction that the bridge should only need three people to run the ship – Captain centre and two forward chairs – and to open the bridge up as a more relaxing and statesman like environment, the seeds were planted for a whole new visual direction for Probert to play with.
After several revisions and drafts, the final version would feature a horseshoe design wrapping a seated command section and offering the perfect mix of old and new ideas. The design would become so iconic through the Next Generation that even following a movie-level refit for Generations, the original would be a tough challenge to recreate for the final season of Star Trek Picard.
Working only on the first season, Probert’s contributions were massive as his work included every major section of the new Enterprise and would go on to design the ship itself after showing off one of his ideas and setting the tone for the entire Next Generation era.
Going from refining the Enterprise to creating it’s 24th century iteration, Probert’s work also included a third starship to bear the name; the Enterprise-C. Initially appearing as half model on the wall of the D’s conference lounge, the design would be scaled down in style and size to meet production requirements.
Designed as a stepping stone between the Excelsior and Galaxy classes, the final on screen version had an easier to build stocky design. The original – often dubbed the Probert version – would later be realised when the concept art was brought to life through Hero Collectors model range and in Star Trek Online as the Narandra sub-class.
Outside of Star Trek, Probert’s vast range of work includes Tron, Airwolf, Batteries Not Included and another iconic piece of science fiction when he was hired to finish off the final Delorean design for Back To The Future.
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A Fistful of Familiar Surroundings
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